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Zangief
"You sit there and you thump your bibles, and say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your psalms, talk about Bazza 3:16...Gief 3:16 says I just protected the Russian Skies!" Zangief is a playable character in the Street Fighter series and a wrestler in VGCW. He was the inaugural Money in the Bank winner, a match he won in a matter of seconds before being stripped of the briefcase and having the match restarted. He made history while feuding with Little Mac, who won the restarted match, in what was VGCW's first real storyline throughout Season 1. Zangief is part of the tag team Gerudo Skies along with his partner, Ganondorf, and the two were former Co-Op Champions. He and Ganondorf's Co-Op reign lasted 104 days, making them the longest reigning Co-Op Champions in VGCW history. In the Street Fighter ''franchise Zangief is a Russian wrestler. He travels the world wrestling bears, suplexing fools, and protecting the skies of his beloved homeland. He is also known to have had a stint as a professional wrestler, during which time he teamed up and shared moves with Mike Haggar. In VGCW Zangief's career was originally an unremarkable one, the only noteworthy happening being a small feud with Nappa. All this would change when Zangief served as the catalyst and protagonist of Season 1, fighting against the villainous Baz Mcmahon and his Corporate Champion Little Mac. The Soviet Screwjob ''"I didn't screw Gief, Gief screwed Gief!" -'' Baz McMahon On November 27th, a Money in the Bank match sparked an incident that would become known as "Gief Screwed Gief," which formed one of the cornerstones of the larger Little McMahon Saga storyline. Zangief faced off against JonTron, Wesker, Captain Falcon, Nappa and, most importantly, Little Mac. As the other competitors began to fight, Zangief instead opted to immediately go for the briefcase itself - a very rare tactic. The other wrestlers were so absorbed in their squabbles that they didn't even notice until it was too late that Zangief had successfully snatched the money in under 15 seconds. While the crowd applauded the spectacle, Mr. McMahon had other plans. Claiming that the match's quick conclusion was unsatisfactory and unfair, Baz announced (to much protest from the audience) a rematch to be held later that night. The rematch ended in a Little Mac victory. Fans claimed that Zangief had been "screwed" (lost due to corporate interference). Baz responded to such claims that Zangief's own tactics had forced the rematch - that "Gief screwed Gief". Refusing to take McMahon's screwjob sitting down, Zangief was later seen in Bazza's office, but was promptly thrown out. The Little McMahon Saga The feud between Zangief and Mac did not end there, however. Little Mac, drunk off of his ill-gotten victory, taunted and attacked Zangief backstage on the November 28th, 2012 show. Things were further escalated in a grudge match booked the following week which saw Baz McMahon insert himself as the special guest referee in a match to decide who would recieve the Money in the Bank briefcase. To the surprise of few, Baz would go on to screw Zangief out of both the win and briefcase, and it was now clear that Bazza really did screw Gief. In retaliation for yet another screwjob, Zangief ran out and ambushed Mac while the boxer later attempted to cash in the infamous briefcase on a bloody Adam Jensen who had just won the title from Bowser. Zangief would also go on to save Ganondorf from Mac's post-match brutalization after the Corporate chump defeated him. With the Dark Lord now also being involved in the feud, Zangief and Ganondorf teamed up to face Mac and Baz McMahon himself in a tag team match ending with a Gerudo Skies victory; the duo would then get payback, and attacked Mac and McMahon following their win. Zangief would have to be physically restrained by Ganondorf during the beatdown to keep the Red Cyclone from seriously injuring Mac. Gerudo Skies would also team up on the next stream, defeating Wario Ware Inc. Little Mac would also famously lose to Proto Man following two Glitch Bombs, robbing their feud of another factor in the VGCW Championship. Despite this, Zangief was still happy that Corporate Mac was dethroned, and he celebrated with Proto Man and Ganondorf. The legendary feud would finally reach its boiling point on December 19th, 2012 as Bazza McMahon arranged one last match to finally settle the score once and for all. The battle would be contested in a 30-minute Ironman match, and whoever managed to score more pinfalls would win. During their match, the ring would be surrounded by flames, ensuring that neither competitor would had anywhere to run. Gief and Mac would throw everything they had at each other, but Lil Mac's endurance prevented Zangief from managing to score many pins, so he instead opted to do as much damage as possible, hitting Mac with several Final Atomic Busters. In the end, Gief lost, as Mac had the edge in pins at 8-4. Following Little Mac's celebration, Bazza McMahon would come to the ring and hand Mac a chair to finish off Zangief for good. Instead of ending Zangief's career, however, Little Mac threw the chair back at McMahon, showing that he was tired of being his corporate lapdop. Zangief then got up, and Mac offered a handshake, which Zangief accepted, finally ending the feud filled with grudge matches, bloody chair shots, rematches and screwjobs that defined VGCW's early months. Even though the two made amends, Little Mac would later get hit by an unknown assailant driving a limo on his way out of the arena. Zangief vs THQuality The period following Zangief arguably losing his feud against Little Mac was most definitely not kind to the Red Cyclone. While he remained teamed up with Ganondorf, offering his partner encouragement and advice, he didn't compete in tag team matches, prefering to go his own way, and his fray in singles competition saw him lose continuously. Many of the matches he competed in resulted in bizarre scenes of THQuality, the same thing that resulted in the infamous Soviet Screwjob. Zangief would also see some BazzaQuality, as he would beat up newcomer and pre-VGCW tag team partner Mike Haggar in a dream that was somehow streamed, although he would later lose the actual match. Zangief would also go on to recieve a first round KOTR loss to the hated JonTron which involved him getting his back broken. One of his better moments was becoming one of the few who have escaped Gabe Newell's Wallet Squeeze submission, a feat he accomplished during an Elimination match that he still went on to lose. The capstone of this unsuccessful and THQuality-laden singles run was a tables match held on the Season 2 finale. Following more than a month and a half of fairly steading competing without a victory, Zangief forgot how to clinch victory at all, and while he dominated Donkey Kong during the match, his amazingly bad AI would result in countless pathing errors and mishaps. The most memorable moment came when Gief would attempt to dive off the top rope onto DK who was laid out on a table. Although this would have normally resulted in a win, THQuality struck again and he instead just leapt onto the floor. Since neither performer could put the other through a table, the match was eventually called a draw after more than 20 minutes of Zangief botching aerial attacks and moonwalking. Protecting the Gerudo Skies Possibly feeling like he needed a change of scenery, Zangief decided to officially return to tag team competition while the rest of the league was busy with the Great Tournament. This decision was a fruitful one, as their participation in the tag team tournament held on February 10th, 2013 saw them triumph over Raw Power, The Saiyans and, finally, GameCenter FU, clinching Gerudo Skies' second Co-Op title shot. Then, on February 18, 2013, Gerudo Skies defeated The Returners to officially capture their first Co-Op Championship. They looked to be well on their way to defending their titles against The Elite Two on their first title defense, held on February 28, 2013 until THQuality reared its ugly head into Gief's business yet again and prevented Zangief from exiting the ring as Ganon was about to secure the win for his team. Whether this was Gief screwing Gief once more or a prime example of the shady officiating that was the hallmark of Thomas McRef's tenure, Gerudo Skies nevertheless retained their belts. Zangief would then take an almost two-month long break from ring competition, as after the Mario Bros earned their title shot during Season 3, Ganondorf being busy with the general manager tournament, the VGCW title and other matters left both the tag team championships and Gief in waiting. Finally, during the first episode of Season 4, Zangief would make his long awaited return to the ring, much to the pleasure of the crowd. In a manner befitting his long-awaited return following his protracted absence, Gief would perform splendidly in the match, ending the match by slamming Mario down and then tagging in Ganondorf who quickly used a Gerudo Kick to knock out the plumber just as he was getting up. Gief would then spear Luigi, and the team secured the win and their titles helping to cement their position as the most dominant tag team in VGCW. Ultimate Atomic... Jobbing? On the 2013-04-23 show, Zangief decided to take part in a singles match - something he had not done in over three months - against Wario. This match was not a typical Russian Wrestling match but rather an Extreme Rules match. The Red Cyclone and Wario spent most of the match living up to the Extreme part, as they beat each other senseless with anything they could find: chairs, steel steps, title belts, even stealing drinks from fans to be used (unsuccessfully) against each other. Zangief did all he could, even landing the Final Atomic Buster on Wario, but it did little to the garlic addict. Zangief was seeing red after being beaten senseless with a championship belt from Wario, but his rage could not be catalyzed. In the end, the greedy gangster then hit his second Money Shot on Zangief, putting him down for the 3 count. The result of this outing surprised fans, who figured Zangief was the favorite to win and was in a higher class than his opponent. However, his performance in tag team matches belied something people had either not realized or forgotten: other than the wins he's secured as part of Gerudo Skies, Zangief has not clinched a victory or a pin, in either singles or multi-man matches, since ''November 22nd, 2012. Furthermore, he hasn't scored any of the winning pins for his team ever since the tag team tournament. Many attribute Zangief's poor moveset to the list of reasons, although another big aspect could be Zangief's seemingly constant attraction to THQuality. Unlike Proto Man, Zangief rarely, if ever, benefits from the many glitches and other mishaps that always happen when he's around. Maybe it's just bad luck, or maybe it's just Gief screwing Gief. Comeback? Despite the stinging reminder of his lack of success in Singles competition, Zangief remained a tag team powerhouse and champion, and he would taste victory once more on May 15th when Gerudo Skies fought GameCenter FU for the Co-Op Championship. Zangief managed to dominate the contest, with his and Ganon's amazing teamwork and tactics allowing an easy win, and although it was Ganon who ended up getting the pin, Zangief managed to do more than his fair share of work, hitting AVGN with a Final Atomic Buster and avoiding the Nerd's finishing move. On May 29th, it was revealed that Zangief had been putting work refining his Final Atomic Buster finisher and that it now properly ended with a piledriver. This news excited many fans, and he was all set to test it when he and Ganondorf would take on the now-official team Safety Valve. Despite being made up of two of VGCW's best singles competitors, Gief would once again step up his game, as he and Ganondorf's superior teamwork was used to get the upper hand on Jensen and Gaben. Thanks mainly to Adam Jensen's utter disdain and lack of concern for his partner, Gerudo Skies won once more. Unprotected Skies But then, just as Zangief and Ganondorf's dominance of the tag team division seemed a foregone affair, it would meet its end at the hands of Wario Ware Inc. at End Game 4. Worse yet, it was Zangief who ate the pin that would cause Gerudo Skies to lose their belts. Though he initially managed to hold his own decently well against Wario, he still took considerable damage and when Waluigi (who had surprisingly been taking it to Ganon very well) switched over to him, Zangief failed to keep up with the People's Champion and could not kick out of a surprise wheelbarrow victory roll. Following their surprising loss, the rumors of Ganondorf carrying the team might have finally taken their toll, and Gerudo Skies decided to amiciably split up so both men could return to singles competition. Many were worried, as Gief's very poor singles track record made further losses seem imminent for the protector of the Russian Skies. Zangief, however, was tired of being called the weak link and prepared to fight former VGCW Champion Solid Snake on the Season 5 Premiere. Gief started the match striking hard and often, but the master of CQC would eventually slow the pace and out maneuver Zangief, but when things looked grim, he let loose a sudden onslaught of offense, dishing out a powerful suplex and two Final Atomic Busters, securing the pin and the safety of the Russian Skies. Zangief was back, and he had finally won, earning his first 1v1 victory since November. His burst of momentum would be short-lived however, as his would face a far more formidable opponent on the next stream: Ezio. The Assassin dominated Gief in the early goings, but Zangief tried to mount a comeback. Although he did manage to work in some offense, it was hopeless. Ezio would pick up the win after landing a frog splash. He wasn't done yet though, as Ezio retrieved a chair from the ring and was ready to assassinate Zangief. Ganondorf would make the save, taking the chair and chasing Ezio out of the ring. Zangief did not get the embrace he was expecting when he got up to his feet, as Ganondorf then struck Gief with the chair himself in a shocking swerve. The Dark Lord betrayed his former comrade, and further conflict is sure to be on the horizon of the Russian Skies. Non-Royal Rumble Record Gallery WSJpP.gif|Zangief protecting the Russian skys! Zangief Real.png Mh3erTk.jpg|Zangiefs popular "Gief 3:16" shirt, appearing to have a printing error Synchronized.gif Giefwhiff.gif Finalatomicbuster.gif|Zangief's finisher, the Final Atomic Buster Bowser_dr_eggman_zangief_wreck-it_ralph.png face turn.png|Zangief reconciling with Mac at the conclusion of the Little Mcmahon Saga Bret Hart wins Money in the Bank.png|Zangief with the Money in the Bank briefcase before being screwed NOT CANON.png|Poor Gief can only win when it doesn't count